Does campaign sign cross legal lines?

Published 8:59 am, Monday, April 2, 2012

Campaign signs for a congressional candidate in a district that includes Orange and Hardin counties might violate Texas election law because they could be misleading.

Orange County District Attorney John Kimbrough is taking an interest in the issue and said he will ask law enforcement authorities to look more closely at the matter.

The signs in question state: "Re-elect Congressman Stockman."

This is the eighth election cycle for U.S. House memberssince Stockman's single term ended.

Steve Stockman, who served one term in Congress from January 1995 to January 1997 in a district that then included Jefferson County, is now running for the District 36 House seat that includes Orange and Hardin counties.

"He's not a congressman," Kimbrough said. "He's not a congressman from here."

The signs are in at least two locations in Orange County, which is part of the new Congressional District 36. It's an open seat and there is no incumbent. There are 11 other Republican candidates in the primary election for the nomination on May 29. The eventual winner will face a Democrat in the November general election.

Hardin County District Attorney David Sheffield also has seen the signs in his county along Texas 327 at U.S. 69.

"The plain implication is that he's a congressman running for re-election," Sheffield said. "It raised a red flag. I think everyone up here knows he's not a congressman. It doesn't quite look kosher when you look at the law."

Stockman's campaign signs also don't include the word "for" as is required by Texas election law. The word "re-elect" also could imply the person named on the sign is the current officeholder.

The Enterprise tried to contact Stockman, a resident of Friendswood, for comment.

A person who answered the telephone at a listing for Stockman, responded to a request to speak with Stockman with, "No you may not. Have a nice day." That person then hung up the phone.

Kimbrough said political season brings out assorted violations.

"It seems like every election cycle, there seems to be a violation," he said. "Most of these are Class A misdemeanors. Because these are criminal cases, police will put a file together. He'll have a chance to admit, deny or explain, but he doesn't have to explain."

Sheffield said he would bring the issue to the attention of Hardin County Attorney Rebecca Walton. Her office handles misdemeanors, which include election law violations.

Under Section 255.006 of the Texas Election Code, regulating political advertising, a person commits a Class A misdemeanor offense if:

n The person knowingly represents in a campaign communication that a candidate holds a public office that the candidate does not hold at the time the representation is made.

n The person represents that a candidate holds a public office that he or she does not hold, and the political advertising or campaign communication states the public office sought but does not include the word "for" in a type size that is at least one-half the type size used for the name of the office to clarify that the candidate does not hold that office.

Also, the code states that a person commits a Class A misdemeanor offense if a person knowingly enters into a contract or other agreement to print, publish, or broadcast political advertising with the intent to represent to an ordinary and prudent person that a candidate holds a public office that the candidate does not hold at the time the agreement is made.

Kimbrough said he recalls that Stockman defeated former longtime Rep. Jack Brooks, a Beaumont Democrat, in 1994 and then was defeated two years later by Nick Lampson, who was defeated in a redrawn district in 2006.

Conviction for a Class A misdemeanor carries a fine of up to $4,000, or confinement of up to one year in a county jail, or both. A misdemeanor does not prohibit a candidate from running for office. A felony would.